Weaving looms in which a plurality of shuttles are moved through progressive sheds are well known; it is also known to introduce weft threads into continuously moving shuttles of a multi-feed or multi-system weaving loom by means of compressed air, introduced through an injector nozzle. A weft thread introduced through an injector nozzle sometimes will be placed in a weft thread storage area of the shuttle in the form of more or less ordered loops or other configurations. As the weft thread is pulled out of the storage area, the individual loops, which may be kinked, may pull against each other, hook against each other, or otherwise interfere with smooth pay-out, thus preventing orderly and proper placement of the weft thread into the shed of the fabric to be made. It has been proposed to form cross walls, located transverse to a central plane of the shuttle in order to subdivide the storage area into a plurality of communicating chambers. The shuttle is guided in a path past the air ejection nozzle of the weft thread injector, and the intention is a uniform distribution of the weft thread in separate loops, distributed in the respective chambers.
It has been found necessary to place the chambers spaced from each other; they cannot be made as small as would be desirable due to aerodynamic considerations; nor can they be placed as closely against each other as might be desirable. Thus, the shuttle will have a comparatively large overall length which cannot be decreased. This, however, is undesirable since the length of the shuttles decreases the number of sheds which can be formed, so that the speed of the weaving loom is decreased. If the shuttles are shorter, a larger number of shuttles can be accomodated in a given width of the warp threads. With shorter shuttles, and at the same operating speed of the shuttles, a larger number of weft threads can be introduced between the warp threads to more rapidly form fabric, so that the overall operating speed of the weaving loom is increased.
Sequentially located single chambers of shuttles of the prior art are open at their bottom, in order to permit the compressed air from the injector to be injected and then ejected without interference. The bottom opening, typically, is opposite the injector nozzles. Excessive lengths of weft thread, however, which may place themselves in the respective chambers must be prevented, however, from entering the opening in the bottom of the chamber. Such lengths, usually in the form of projecting loops, may catch on the shuttle path guide elements, or otherwise interfere with proper weaving. It has been proposed to form the bottom of the shuttle as a perforated region with comparatively small openings. This prevents weft threads from entering the openings but, on the other hand, is less effective since, if the openings are small enough to prevent the formation of weft thread loops, they have the tendency to become plugged by fluff or the like, even after some comparatively short operating time. In any event, they must be carefully cleaned at regular intervals which, of course, requires stopping of the weaving operation of the weaving loom.